Hot Topics:

Phillies pitcher Cliff Lee gave up eight runs in his final rehab start, but general manager Ruben Amaro expects a return to form when Lee makes comes off the disabled list to start against the Giants Monday at Citizens Bank Park. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

PHILLIES: Lee ready to return, with lots of eyes on him

Phillies pitcher Cliff Lee gave up eight runs in his final rehab start, but general manager Ruben Amaro expects a return to form when Lee makes comes off the disabled list to start against the Giants Monday at Citizens Bank Park. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

ATLANTA - Cliff Lee will return to the mound Monday for the Phillies, and Ruben Amaro Jr. expects the veteran left-hander to be a different pitcher than the guy who allowed eight runs (three earned) and didn't get out of the fifth inning in his last rehabilitation start with Class A Clearwater a week earlier.

'I expect him to be Cliff Lee,' said Amaro, who was without Lee for two months as he recovered cautiously from a strained elbow. 'He's pretty robotic when he goes out there and pitches. I don't think he was all that enthusiastic (pitching in the minors). He doesn't see pitching in rehab games as something that's necessarily beneficial other than to get his work in. So I think he'll pitch fine.

'If he's healthy, he'll pitch fine.'

Scouts from other teams will be monitoring his health as well. Lee's fastball has taken a minor dip in the last couple of seasons - he usually sits at 89-91 mph with it these days - and that modest velocity regression isn't an issue for a 35-year-old southpaw who has the placement and deception Lee has used to become one of the game's elite starters.

That said, if he has lost another tick or two, that would be a red flag.

Still, a few of the scouts set to observe Lee seemed eager to see a guy who is back to normal. Lee's pitching IQ and reputation for being frank about matters of the mound have scouts less concerned about him attempting to overthrow or do too much out there, and that might make Lee an exception to the rule of teams running for their lives from a pitcher returning from an arm issue.

•••Miguel Gonzalez, the 27-year-old Cuban right-hander the Phillies gave $12 million in a big-league contract nearly a year ago, took the loss for Double-A Reading Sunday when he gave up a solo home run in the top of the ninth inning of a tie game.

That, however, has been one of very few hiccups in the last several weeks for Gonzalez since the idea of starting him was scrapped for a relief role. In eight Eastern League appearances spanning 10 innings, Gonzalez has a 1.80 ERA, striking out a whopping 17 batters.

The turnaround has been a relief for Amaro, who claimed when Gonzalez was signed that he would have an inside track for the Phillies' starting rotation coming out of spring training. That proved to be a foolish proclamation, but at least Gonzalez has started showing the electric stuff that made him the most intriguing Cuban pitcher on the market last year.

'He's throwing good,' Amaro said. 'He comes out of the 'pen, which is something kind of new for him.

'He's just learning what it's like to get out of the 'pen and be sharp right out of the chute. He has thrown well.'

The odds are strong that Gonzalez will be with the Phillies in September in the bullpen, but Amaro doesn't think he's lost his chance at being a starter in 2015 or beyond.

'We're going to try get him as many innings as we possibly can now as a reliever,' Amaro said. 'But at some point in the offseason we'll probably try to stretch him out again. If he can't do it, then we'll leave him as a reliever.'